I remember back in the late 1980s having a very excellent wall clock: It was plastic, shaped like an alarm clock, and in very 80s colours. There was an 80s motif on the face. Do you know anything about these? I threw mine out years ago, and I'd like another now but I haven't seen any on eBay at all.

I think the photograph above shows one of the clocks you are referring to, Simon. I've had it since about 1987/1988 and it hangs in my hall - together with my Adam Ant mirror!

It still keeps good time (the clock, not the mirror!).

Keep an eye on eBay - I'm sure one will turn up. They were terrific novelty clocks - cheap and cheerful. You could have mine, but we've been through a lot together and I'm very fond of it!

A wally Frank may have been, but he was also an innocent. This upped his likeability rating no end.

He lived at home in Timperley with his mother, and related heart warming tales of his home life to his audiences - like the time he took the lawn mower apart, tried to reassemble it, but ended up with lots of left-over pieces of lawn mower workings. He attempted to flush them down the toilet to hide what he'd been up to from his mother.

Frank's quirky comedy is not considered to be alternative by most modern day people, but I think it kind of was. If you know what I mean.

Before finding fame as Frank, Chris Sievey had been a member of The Freshies pop group. They notably scored a hit (No 54 in February 1981!) with a ditty initially entitled I'm In Love With The Girl On The Manchester Virgin Megastore Checkout Desk.

Virgin Records requested that they should be left out of it, so the song was then retitled I'm In Love With The Girl On A Certain Manchester Megastore Checkout Desk.

The initial idea for Frank Sidebottom was that he would be a fan of The Freshies, and he made his debut in 1981 on a promotional video for the song Wrap Up The Rockets (AKA Rockets).

The Freshies were cultie, but not that well known, so must people didn't see Frank in 1981. The band split up in 1982.

In 1984, the launch of a game called The Biz, designed for the ZX Spectrum by Chris Sievey, saw a further-developed Frank Sidebottom feature on a 12-inch promotional record, which came free with the game.This was intended to be a one-off gimmick.

But Frank was soon a star of telly and radio - and the children's comic Oink!

Love the Thatcher Government? Hate the Thatcher Government? This was a time when most people held very strong opinions either way! The pop stars of the '80s largely aligned themselves against the Iron Lady.On February 27, 1985, the Daily Mirror reported:

Leading pop stars have signed a "celebrity petition" to be handed in at 10 Downing Street tomorrow. It opposes Government plans to axe supplementary benefit for school leavers if they do not take part in the Youth Training Scheme.Holly Johnson and Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Paul Weller, Madness, Smiley Culture, the Flying Pickets and Alison Moyet are among the entertainers whose names will be handed in.The Downing Street visit is part of a national rally and lobby of Parliament organised by the Youth Trade Union Rights Campaign.

The Youth Opportunities scheme had been introduced by the Callaghan Labour Government in 1978, in response to rapidly rising youth unemployment. A YOP provided work experience only, although in 1982 a training element was added. In 1983, it was replaced by the Youth Training Scheme (YTS), which, as the scheme's name suggests, was centred around training for skills.

So, what was the beef with school leavers having to go on a YTS scheme to qualify for Government money? Did they not want training? Well, looking back, the reasons I heard bandied about were that the Government was simply using the scheme to make the unemployment figures look smaller, and that minimum age school leavers had a right to expect a proper job.

This interested me as, as far back as the mid-1970s, the fact that graduates with degrees were finding it impossible to find work was being widely reported.

But in the 1980s, any inititative on the part of the Thatcher Governments was seen by many of us as a plot to do us down.

And, although I had a job and was completely unaffected, I still ranted my disapproval.

12.6.10

The idea behind Hart To Hart was once described as a "'spin on the Thin Man films". There are similarities: like Nick and Nora Charles, Jonathan and Jennifer Hart were a wealthy, crime solving husband and wife team. Like Nick and Nora Charles, Jonathan and Jennifer Hart had a dog. But Jonathan and Jennifer Hart also had a friend/servant who was a genuine one-off - Max!

The pilot show made its debut in England on Sunday, 27 January, 1980 - on ITV - the series having begun in America a few months previously. Minus the famous "'cause when they met it was murder" catchphrase, which came a little later (in the first season Max said: "I look after both of them which ain't easy - 'cause their hobby is murder!"), the other ingredients were all present and correct. The fabulously wealthy Jonathan Hart (Robert Wagner), his wife Jennifer (Stefanie Powers), their faithful servant and old pal Max (Lionel Stander), and Freeway, the dog, solved crimes week after week.TV was more of an event in those days, with only three channels, and most of us looked forward to the feature-length pilot episode. Hart To Hart began at 9.15 pm, breaked for fifteen minutes of news at 10.15, and then continued until 11.15. In my ITV region it was followed by a dreary programme called A Question Of Sex, in which Clive James and Anna Raeburn debated whether women are more emotional than men, then, just after midnight, it was Closedown. Those were very different days.Hart To Hart was an instant hit here. The final episodes were filmed in America in 1984.One mystery remains. Whilst the Harts' bedroom was regularly featured in the show, Max did not appear to have one and it was a standing joke on the set that he slept standing up!

10.6.10

I love the way '80s Actual covers obscure as well as famous pop culture from the decade. I note you have included some original press release photographs of the mid-'80s Granada soap Albion Market in your posts on the subject, and wonder if you would kindly upload a few more to stir up some more memories for me? I rather liked this programme.My wife and I were brand new parents when Albion Market started, and were taking life as quietly as possible, and Albion Market suited us because it wasn't as loud and brash as EastEnders. Keep up the good work!

3.6.10

Top favourite was Ramsay Street gossip Mrs Mangel, played by the English actress Vivean Gray from 1986 to 1988. She scored twenty-three votes. Mrs Mangel was vinegary and disapproving, and delighted in stirring up trouble. Her battles with "that Ramsay woman", Madge (Anne Charleston), were a lively ingredient in the Neighbours brew back then.

Mrs Mangel had a kinder side - she cared deeply for granddaughter Jane Harris (Annie Jones), was a good friend to Eileen Clarke (Myra De Groot) and doted on Bouncer the lovable Labrador.

But at the end of the day, she was pure poison to many.

Wonderful!

Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) is an '80s Neighbours Top Man - sharing the title with Jim Robinson, original head of the Robinson clan, and Mrs Mangel's son, Joe (Mark Little).

Harold attracted sixteen votes in our poll, and once wooed and won Madge Ramsay. Prissy, sometimes pompous, and always allergic to dog hairs, Harold meant well, enjoyed pumpkin soup and totally rejected any form of gambling - he called poker "The Devil's Tiddlywinks"!

Jim Robinson (Alan Dale) - good old Jim, head of the Robinson family, scored sixteen votes in our poll, and shares the honour of '80s Actual readers' favourite Neighbours male character with Harold Bishop and Joe Mangel.

Father of Paul (Stefan Dennis), Julie (Vikki Blanche), Scott (Darrius Perkins/Jason Donovan) and Lucy (Kylie Flinker/Sasha Close), Jim's wife, Anne, had died some years before. In 1988, he married Dr Beverly Marshall (Lisa Armytage) and found himself with kids in his care again when Todd and Katie Landers (Kristian Schmidt and Sally Jenson), Beverly's nephew and niece, arrived on the scene.

Mark Little as Joe Mangel. When Henry Ramsay (Craig McLachlan) discovered a buried gun in Mrs Mangel's back garden in 1988, the scene was set for Nell's long-lost son Joe to appear. Joe turned out to be a nice bloke, down to earth, bit of a "larrikin" but really a lovely geezer. Mark Little graduated from NIDA (the National Institute of Dramatic Art) in 1981. He then appeared in several TV drama series - including The Sullivans and The Flying Doctors - before becoming Joe Mangel in 1988.

With 16 votes in our poll, Joe Mangel shares the top spot as Neighbours favourite 1980s male character with Harold Bishop and Jim Robinson.

Charlene's partner in romance and marriage, studious Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan), scored nine. Scott and Charlene (or "Lennie" as she was often called) helped make Neighbours a "must-watch" in the mid-to-late 1980s.

Both Kylie and Jason soon visited the pop charts. They were so lucky (lucky, lucky lucky).

Dependable Daph - former stripper Daphne Lawrence/Clarke (Elaine Smith) - scored fifteen votes. She was bequeathed the running of the local coffee shop by her grandfather, and, after a change of premises, turned it into the hub of the community.

Daphne was an all-Australian girl - but Elaine Smith is British, a Scot born in Largs, Aryshire.

Eileen Clarke (Myra De Groot), mother of Des (Paul Keane) was Nell Mangel's best friend, and Miss De Groot once described her as being as "mad as a meat axe"! The death of Myra in 1988 saw the character departing from Erinsborough to go on a competition-won tour of Europe. She was sadly missed. Eileen scored fourteen points in our poll.

English-born Myra De Groot arrived in Australia in 1980. She made her soap debut in the long-running wartime saga The Sullivans.

Sally Wells (Rowena Mohr) is rather an obscure Neighbours character - she arrived in the show in late 1987, and departed again in 1988. But she obviously struck a chord with two of our readers, who voted her their favourite 1980s character in our poll.

Sally turned up searching for her half-brother and her father. Her half-brother turned out to be Des Clarke. Her father was Eileen's ex-husband, Malcolm, and the product of an affair years before.

Sally found herself romanced by Henry Ramsay, but did not want a relationship. She found her dad, became quite close to Des, and, against all odds, forged a relationship with Eileen, who was desperately hurt by the news of her husband's betrayal with Sally's mother.

Gail Robinson (Fiona Corke) married Paul (Stefan Dennis), head honcho at Lassiters. Gail looked truly wonderful in shoulder pads (the character had her own wardrobe, supplied by Kamizole), and originally married Paul purely for business reasons. But the couple fell in love, and survived many traumas in true soap style, including the discovery that Gail's father was not her biological father - she had been adopted.

Gail and Paul enrolled in the IVF programme in 1988 after Gail revealed that she was unable to have children. She ended up expecting triplets, but beat a speedy retreat from Ramsay Street in 1989 when Fiona Corke decided to leave the show.Gail received ten votes.

2.6.10

We're looking at hair today. 1980s hair. And was there ever a decade that had such glorious barnets? There were fabulous trendy new products - think gel, mousse and wax - and we went wild. And I MEAN wild."Stu Stu Stu Studio, Studio Studio Line..."

The mid-to-late 1980s were a time of financial excess, but just about the whole of the decade was a time of excess when it came to our hair...

Take a look at our two mid-to-late 1980s lovelies up top... Hazell Dean and Su Pollard eat your hearts out!

The inspiration for this post is a book called "Big Hair" - published in 2003.I quote from the introduction:

"During the 1980s something BIG happened. From mobile phones the size of telephone boxes to shoulder pads wide enough to land a Freddie Laker airbus, big was everywhere. Size mattered and hair was no exception. With the aid of gravity-defying hair products like gel, mousse, wax and hairspray, the sky was no longer the limit..."

And OOOHHH!! The lady on the left looks a little like a red-headed Spagna ("Call me, call me, baby, baby call me now. Call me, oh, call me, baby, baby, do, do, do it, baby please!") and the lady on the right looks a little like Tina Turner. Or somebody who has just had a vat of spaghetti poured over her head.

"Turn around, bright eyes!" Very lovely indeed.

With new shampoos like Timotei arriving, you could wash your hair as often as you liked. Which, with the amount of flaking gel left in my hair the morning after a big night out, was a relief.

1983 - Today's hairstyles need hold and a natural touch.

This is a nice look for young, serious-minded '80s gents - very stu... stu... stu... studious and rather Timmy Mallet.Studious AND Timmy Mallet? How can that be possible?!!But anything was possible in the '80s.

Magazine ad for Shock Waves gel, 1988. Wow!

And here's a beautiful, big 1980s mullet.Smart gent.In 1984, I became the first man in my family ever to own a hairdryer.And I was forever tweaking my hair.

I had the blonde streaks, I had the bouffant mullet (although we didn't call them mullets in the 1980s, that was a 1990s coinage), I had the hedgehog, I had the flat top...I had everything possible.And for a young working class lad with a step father whose pride and joy was a 1950s DA, which he combed margarine into to keep it in shape, you can imagine just how revolutionary I was.

When I was a kid I had a haircut like Terry Wogan's.But in the 1980s I cried "FREEDOM!!"It was a fabulous decade for male fashion and grooming.

"If I had a photograph of you..." A Flock Of Seagulls meets Toyah.

This is simply great.

"Who's looking good today? Who's looking good in every way?"

"Individuality, being what you want to be - until tomorrow..."I loved this look!To achieve it, first find a hedgehog.Then pop it on your head...

Another big mullet. Bliss. Hair was so high maintenance for many of us '80s people.I remember washing, blow drying and gelling my hair, and if it wouldn't sculpt right, I'd go back to the beginning...

In the 1980s, everyday men got into styling their hair like never before - with hair gel and mousse available, it was time to go mad. Men took to blonde highlights, and a new mullet emerged - big and bouffant to the max! I've seen footage of tennis star Andre Agassi playing a match in 1989 with a glorious blonde-highlighted mullet-mane of hair.

The 1980s mullet could be full at the side or shaved at the sides. It was usually long and flowing at the back.

Many 1980s mullets were simply magnificent. Others, like Limahl's of Kajagoogoo, are probably best forgotten!

The hairdo on the left has a built-in nose warmer - ideal for those nippy days. The hairdo on the right is really... er...um...

And it's a very fashionable colour scheme by '80s reckonings.

The early 1980s: the beginning of the romance between Lady Diana Spencer and Prince Charles in 1980 propelled "Lady Di" into the public eye. She became a major trend setter. Did YOU have a Diana wig?

Whew - candy floss on the left and a very nice wedge hairdo on the right. I think the wedge would still be acceptable today - particularly with the huge revival in 1980s fashion that is on the streets.

These looks remind me of the early 1980s New Romantics scene. I can just imagine these gents singing "Aye, aye, aye moosey," too...

Lots of moustaches here.

Is it true, as we so often read that 'taches went out of fashion in the 1980s? Personally, I think that's rubbish. The 1960s made men much hairier (it's incredible to look at the male fashions of the early 1960s and the hippie fashions later in the decade to see how things had changed), and the years following made men gradually less so. And so the 'tache faded slowly.But I remember as late as 1987 experimenting with growing a 'tache - something that, as a young fashion conscious dude, I would never have done had it been considered even remotely naff at that point.

So much cobblers is written about fashion.

The 'tache was on the wane towards the end of the 1980s, but was still trendy and highly acceptable for most of the decade. Think Magnum. Think Hall and Oates. Think Kevin Webster of Coronation Street. Take a look at '80s telly in general.

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INTRODUCTION

The '80s Actual blog is designed to be an antidote to all those television shows and on-line articles of recent years which examine pop culture - and frequently get it hopelessly wrong! If you sat watching the BBC's "I Love The 1970s" and exclaimed over items being shown "I could swear that was 1968!" or "Wasn't that 1981?" chances are you were right.

If you look at certain '70s fan sites and think a lot of the material written about is actually from the '80s, you are almost certainly correct.

If on-line encyclopedia articles which state that pop culture of 1983 is really 1977, or similar, have you wishing for reality, then '80s Actual is for you.

There is a huge drive in the media and on-line to negate the 1980s, to attribute that decade's innovations and fond memories to other decades, and basically to present it as a completely vapid ten years, not worthy of examination.

I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's just comforting to have a decade people can scapegoat and declare "HORRIBLE"?

This blog is based on actual memories, media footage (thank you, YouTube!) and snippets of newspaper and magazine articles from the 1980s. If you read it here, I think you can rest assured it's accurate, though I can take no responsibility for the newspaper reports from the decade!The '80s Actual blog examines the decade's news stories - from the emergence of Lady Diana Spencer into the public eye in 1980, to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.

Was it simply "The Greed Decade" as many like to claim? I think not - the '80s saw the emergence of yuppies, but also Red Wedge, the Greenham Common Peace Women, and increasing concern for the environment. It may be convenient to scapegoat the '80s as the cause of all known ills, but the reality of the decade was far different - absolute bedlam, as Right fought Left, idealism fought corporate ambition. The election ofRonald Reagan as American President in 1980, and his second victory in 1984, had a far more decisive effect on the international political landscape than the three successive general election victories of UK Prime MinisterMargaretThatcher in 1979, 1983 and 1987.

Musically, the 1980s saw the beginnings of House Music, the exciting and still evolving world of synths taking centre stage, the evolvement of Rap music into the fully-fledged Hip Hop scene, Band Aid and Live Aid, great Indie, startling Acid House, and Raves...

And there was so much more! The decade truly had something for everyone - and provided a welcome escape for a while from the long-running and boring saga of flared trousers as fashion, begun back in the 1960s!

There are also also '80s Actual sister blogs taking us back to the '70s and '60s - The Real 1970s and Spacehopper.The view of the 1980s presented here is from an English perspective - much of the original '80s material used is from England, but I hope this blog will prove useful and enjoyable to people in the other nations of the UK and much further afield.